Just A Peter
by Capstar98
Summary: When trying to get back Peter from the soul stone, the Avengers accidentally get the wrong one. (Aka Comic Spider-Man crashes the MCU)
1. Chapter 1

"...Okay, is it just me, or does my apartment look a little different?" A pause. The room was silent, four sets of eyes set on the speaker. "Not to mention you all are definitely not helping me with the rent." The man pursed his lips and nodded. "Just me, then. Nice."

"Who the hell are you?" Tony strode forwards, and the spell on the room broke.

"Tony, wait -" Rodgers intercepted him before he could get too close.

Rocket piped up, "This ain't your guy?"

Tony huffed in frustration and shook off Steve's hand. He looked back at the raccoon as he gestured towards the man who had just materialized in the room. "Does this look like a teenager to you?"

"How should I know? All you humans look the same to me!"

"I want to say that's racist, but I'm too confused." The man in question was staring wide-eyed at Rocket. Then he blinked, and frowned. "Wait, did you say 'Tony'?" He took a step forward. "This isn't -"

"Stay right there, asshole!" Tony snapped, his heart racing. "No sudden moves until we work out what the hell is going on here."

The man raised his hands in front of him placatingly. "Whoa, alright. No offense meant."

Steve's voice was level. "Everyone stay calm. We'll figure this out."

No, Tony was not going to stay calm. This was their one shot, and it didn't work. Whoever this was, it wasn't _him_. "Bruce, talk to me. What happened?"

Banner spun back to the computer screen to look at the data. "I don't understand. This should have worked. The machine is calibrated to a specific genetic code. It shouldn't be able to latch on to anything else in the universe." He raised an eyebrow, and glanced up at Tony. "Well, I suppose maybe a clone, but just look at him -"

"Yeah, take it from me - it's better not to involve the clones." The man shuddered. "I mean, identity theft is already a problem."

Tony was incredulous, but ignored the comment as well as the rising panic in his chest. "Yes, I know it should have worked. But obviously it didn't. Otherwise who is this joker?"

Rocket snorted. "He's ugly, that's who."

"Hey! I'll have you know my aunt thinks I'm handsome."

"Why don't you let him speak for himself?" Steve said, crossing his arms over his chest.

He rolled his eyes. "You're a font of wisdom, Rodgers. Thank you for that totally off the wall suggestion."

Steve frowned. "I'm only trying to help."

The man's eyebrows raised. "Rodgers?" His gaze flitted between them, his head twisting comically. Then he sighed, his eyes shifting to the ceiling. "God, not again. No wonder I feel fluish."

Tony frowned. "Not again?" He slowed and took a moment to study the guy. He was decently tall, with crew cut brown hair, and looked to be in his mid 20s. He definitely wasn't Peter. Surely not. But the machine had grabbed him. Were they wrong, or… Tony's mind was flooding with terrible possibilities.

"Let's just say I've rode this inter-dimensional train before, and it's even messier than the MTA."

"Sorry, what?" Bruce said, head tilting in confusion.

The man smiled. "We'll get this out of the way, then. I'll tell you what I know, and you tell me what you know. Namely, what the hell you're doing to get me sucked into this."

"Yeah? What is it that you know, then?" Tony challenged.

A finger pointed towards his chest, and then Steve's. "I know you're Tony Stark, and he's Steve Rodgers. You must be Bruce Banner." He cocked his head at Rocket. "Sorry, you I have no idea. But believe me, I'm extremely curious."

"The name's Rocket."

"This just keeps getting better," he grinned. "Well, nice to meet you, Rocket. I'm Peter."

It was then that Tony's brain short circuited. His mouth opened, and closed again.

Steve and Bruce turned to look at each other.

Rocket just looked confused. "Peter? But then we're good - this is the guy!" No one responded. "Am I wrong, or were we looking for a Peter?"

"Just _a _Peter? Not _me _Peter? Well, there are a lot of us. Easy mistake."

Tony put up a hand. "I'm sorry - there are _a lot _of you? What the hell does that mean, exactly?"

'Peter' hesitated. "Ah, I'm not sure how much I should say here."

Banner swallowed, and rubbed a hand on his forehead. "What were you just saying about inter-dimensional travel?"

"Why don't you explain your side first, huh? Why am I here?"

Tony started pacing, his mind whirring. "Just so we're crystal here. Can we get a last name from you?"

He smirked. "Parker. But I think you knew that."

Jesus Christ. _Holy shit. _"Well, this is just great. It didn't work." He spun on his heel and faced the Peter Parker that wasn't Peter Parker.

"Well, it did work, but not the way we wanted." Bruce raised his eyebrows. "This is kind of amazing, actually."

Tony turned his head sharply. "Amazing? Are you serious? Bruce -" Peter's scared face flashed in his mind. His body dissolving, his frightened voice -

Banner cut him off. "I know, Tony. I know. But still, this is… well, I thought I'd seen it all."

Steve spoke up. "I'm lost. Can someone explain what this is?"

"Classic Cap," Not Peter said, then stated simply, "I'm from another dimension."

"Oh." His voice was small.

Tony squeezed the bridge of his nose with one hand. "Wow. You're kidding me. Great! This is great."

Bruce reasoned, "Well, at least we didn't pull back a Peter from our future. That would be even messier."

"Like there's one there to pull back," Tony snapped.

"Hey, don't think that way."

Peter clasped his hands together. "Well, this has been fun and all - always love meeting new faces of old friends - but I've kind of got a dinner date I can't miss. And since I'm not the Peter Parker you ordered… can we maybe return to sender?"

"Yeah…" Bruce scratched his arm. "About that."

"Oh no. That sounds like a bad news delivery voice."

Tony leaned back against a worktable. "This thing isn't designed as a two way street. It's designed to bring someone here. Not put them back. So sorry, compadre, but you're stuck here until we can find some way to install a reverse switch."

Peter sighed. "Yeah, honestly should've expected that. Things never do go right when I'm involved." He looked around at each of them, his eyes piercing. Then he shrugged and said, "Well, I'm hungry. Can you order pizza in this universe?"

* * *

Thanks for reading! This is just an idea I thought was fun and I'm playing around with it. Consider this a short opener - I've got plenty of plans for where this can go! Let me know if you're interested!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for your interest, guys! Just to clear a few things up: I have read a decent amount of Spider-Man and Avengers comics, but I definitely have not read all of them, so if there's things you think are off or missing - that just means I haven't read it, but I'm trying my best to keep the characters right! This Spider-Man isn't really exactly what he is in current comics, but more the classic idea of him. Let me know how I do.

If there's anything you're interested in seeing here, comment and let me know, I might be able to include it. Hope you enjoy, there's more to come later!

* * *

An hour later, Tony was sitting with Peter in the kitchen, watching him eat an entire pizza. Bruce was back working on the machine, and Cap and Rocket had gone off to bring back the rest of the team.

Peter had wasted no time in scarfing down the pizza. Some things didn't change across universes, apparently. Tony reached forwards to grab a slice before it was all gone. "You're lucky I stock up on Di'journos," he said. "Pizza delivery hasn't started up again around here yet."

"Is that right?" Peter paused and looked up. "So, are you going to explain anything? I mean, no pizza delivery in the city? I've got a feeling something bad is going on around here."

Tony swallowed and put his slice down on the plate in front of him. "That's because something bad is going on around here."

He took another bite. "Why are you trying to summon your Peter Parker? Did you lose his cell phone number or something?"

Tony's thoughts darkened in that way he was so familiar with. "Something like that, yeah."

Peter narrowed his eyes at him for a moment, then shrugged. "You don't want to tell me? Fine. But I mean, who knows, maybe I can help."

"I don't think you want to know about this one, kid." The familiar nickname rolled off his tongue before he could stop it.

A raised eyebrow. "I can handle a lot, old man."

"Let's just focus on getting you out of here. No offense, but you're not exactly the person I was hoping to share pizza with today."

"Yeah, so you've said." Peter looked around. The room they were sitting in was large and bright. Past the kitchen was a sitting area and several more tables. No one else was around, and the building was quiet beyond. "Seriously, what's going on around here? This is an Avengers headquarters, right? This place should be buzzing with people. Where is everyone?"

"So you know about the Avengers?"

Peter chuckled. "Yeah, Tony, I know about the Avengers. I'm not exactly a card carrying member at the moment, but I've served my time."

"Hey, I'm just trying to get a read on you." He frowned. "How old are you, anyway?"

Peter smiled. "Twenty six."

Ten years older than his Peter. "Huh. All grown up."

"All grown up? How old is the Peter you know?"

"Sixteen," Tony said.

Peter raised his eyebrows. "Wow. I was definitely not an Avenger at sixteen. How did that happen?"

"Just a factor of circumstance, I guess." Tony took a deep breath, the moment when he knighted Peter flashing in his head. "He - you? this isn't confusing at all - didn't want to join at first, actually."

"Ha. Now that, I understand. You're kind of a hormonal bunch."

Tony smirked in spite of himself. "Yeah, he just wanted to be a 'friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.' But I guess he forgot about all that later."

Peter nodded. "Sounds like me." His head snapped up. "Hey, do you think… I mean, you know who I am. You know my identity."

"Right."

"So you know my family."

Tony nodded hesitantly. He wasn't looking forward to where this was going.

"Do I - who are they?" he asked, his face uncertain, yet hopeful.

"Uh, you have an aunt. May."

Peter paused, as if waiting to hear if there would be more. After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah. Right. That's right."

Tony couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He knew that his Peter's parents had died, along with his uncle. Likely it was the same story for this Peter. He was probably hoping more people had survived here. "She's alright, by the way," he added.

"Good, good," Peter said absently. He took a deep breath and quickly centered himself, his face brightening almost forcefully. "I wonder if time is passing back in my dimension the same way? I did promise someone I'd be at dinner tonight."

Tony considered that. "Who knows, really? I guess time could be slower. Or it could be speeding past on your side of things."

Peter paled at that. "Gosh, I didn't even think about that."

Tony cringed. "Uh, well most likely it's going the same as here," he recovered quickly. Trying to distract him, he asked, "Who's the lucky lady you're standing up, then?"

Peter blinked and looked back at him. "Uh, my wife. Mary Jane."

Tony's brain short circuited for a moment for what felt like the 50th time that day. "Your _wife?_"

A smile and a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, my wife. What, do you know Mary Jane here?"

He took a deep breath. "Uh, no. I just," he chuckled, "can't imagine you married. And at twenty six." A thought struck him. "Do you have kids, then?"

Peter snorted. "God, no. That's not really in the cards right now, especially considering someone tries to blow up our apartment about every six months."

He shook his head. "Ha. Peter Parker married." Tony tried to see his Peter with a wife. What a thought. He was so young now, it just seemed so impossible. But then, Tony hoped that he could have that chance. If they never brought him back - suddenly he was struck again by the life that Peter might never have, and his chest ached.

"Crazier things have happened," replied this older Peter. "I mean, I had six arms once! But yeah, I kind of missed our last three dinner dates. I was gonna make it up to her tonight. A fancy restaurant and everything." He shrugged. "Parker luck, I guess. Hopefully she won't be too mad."

Tony brought himself back, considering Peter as he spoke. Now that they were talking, he saw sparks of his Peter - saw how he could've - still could, damnit - grow into this. "If she's crazy enough to have married you, I'd say she can put up with quite a bit."

Peter laughed. "That's for sure. I really hit the jackpot with her. She probably puts up with too much, really."

Tony just considered him for a moment. He was seriously having a conversation with another dimension's Peter Parker. "God, this is weird," he finally said. "You -"

Peter frowned then, and looked around, as if he had heard something. "Something's wrong."

Suddenly an alarm beeped, and F.R.I.D.A.Y's voice came over the speakers. "_Boss, an explosion has gone off at 21st and 3rd avenue._" Tony immediately snapped to focus, and he saw Peter stand quickly out of the corner of his eye. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and snapped open the satellite feed. He got a view of smoke rising, but the shot wasn't good enough to see much.

"What's going on there, F.R.I.D.A.Y? Is that where everyone is?" He stood and pressed a button to activate his suit. As it materialized around him, he turned and was shocked to see Spider-Man. The suit wasn't the same as the ones he had made, but the design was similar - red and blue, with a web pattern. He blinked, and big white eyes stared back at him.

F.R.I.D.A.Y responded, "_No, the rest of the Avengers are still downtown. Patching the address and satellite feed into your suit now." _

"Let's go, boss!" Peter was over to the window in a flash and opened it. Tony watched as he paused for a moment, his head tilted, before he crawled out of the window to the outside of the building. "You comin', or what?" With that, he jumped off of the building, his webs shooting out to catch the corner of the nearest rooftop.

Tony shook himself. "Get yourself together," he muttered, activating his suit and flying out the window after Peter. He was surprised to see him perched up on the roof, standing stock still and looking over the city. "What's the matter, kid?" he called out, "Stage fright?"

Peter took a moment to respond, and when he did, his voice was soft and hollow. "This is wrong. It's too quiet."

Tony bit back a sigh. The sight of New York with half its population missing might not have been a comfortable one, but at least he knew what the world looked like at this point. It was no surprise to see the streets almost empty and too quiet. "I'll explain later, I promise. Let's just check this thing out, yeah?"

Peter jumped off of the roof, flipping before his webs caught him and he swung forwards towards where F.R.I.D.A.Y had reported the explosion. Tony shot off after him.

Tony couldn't deny it felt nice to see the familiar shape of Spider-Man swinging through the New York City streets. He often thought about how he might never see it again. But he didn't have to remind himself that this wasn't his Peter. He pushed his feelings aside. "More power, F.R.I.D.A.Y. Let's get there."

He pushed ahead of Peter and shot towards where the explosion had taken place. As they got closer, they could see smoke rising. A fire was burning.

"The city on fire. Now I feel right at home," Peter said. Tony almost checked his systems when he only heard his voice from afar and not through his headset, until he remembered there was no way they were connected. He'd have to fix that when he could.

They tore onto the scene, Tony hovering above to take stock of the situation. Whatever had happened here had set fire to an office building. The windows were blown out, smoke was pouring out, and fire licked the walls inside. People were milling about the smoke, their voices rising through it. A few cried out in agony.

He watched as Peter swung through, picking up an older lady and placing her down the street out of harm's way before turning back around.

Tony examined his head's up display. "F.R.I.D.A.Y, analyze. What's going on here? Who did this?"

"_I can't tell what caused the explosion, boss. But it and the fire has weakened the structural integrity of the building. The inner walls will likely collapse." _

"Are there still people in there?"

"_Six signatures reading as still inside the building, sir. With eleven out on the street but too close to be safe." _

"Right. Let's clear out the building first. Keep me updated on the integrity of the walls. Spider-Man!" He yelled out, then muttered, "Damn it where is he. Spider-Man!" He spotted the red and blue figure swinging towards a window. His head turned when he heard Tony call out. "My sensors are reading this building's set to collapse!" Tony cried. "We have to move quick!"

It was hard to say if Peter had even heard what he had said, since he didn't pause to reply, but Tony didn't have time to worry about it. He burst into the building through a window just as he got a call through his head set. F.R.I.D.A.Y patched it through to him.

"_Tony!" _It was Rodgers. "_Nat and I are headed your way. What's happening?" _

"Explosion." He replied shortly. "We're clearing out the building. There's no sign yet of what caused it."

"_Right. We'll be there as soon as we can." _The call cut off.

He continued towards the back of the building, following the signatures on his display. The room was wrecked. Parts of the ceiling had fallen in, fire licked the walls, and smoke filled the room. He found one woman unconscious behind her desk, possible due to smoke inhalation. He grabbed her quickly and deposited her near where an EMT was working, only giving the technician a nod before bursting off again.

Peter jumped out of the window, two men in his arms. He too only paused a moment to place them safely on the ground before swing back into the burning building. Tony headed in after him.

They worked their way to the back of the building, Peter crawling around on whatever parts of the wall or floor weren't burning or crumbled.

Faint voices were coming from the next room, and got louder as they raced in. Once they entered they saw half the ceiling had collapsed, blocking off the corner of the room and effectively trapping the last three people.

F.R.I.D.A.Y spoke up, "_The walls are shifting, boss. You don't have more than a few minutes before this place collapses!" _

"Hello!" Peter called out. "If you can hear us, we're coming to help!" He coughed, and Tony realized that while his suit might be helping keep the smoke out, it wasn't doing much more than keeping your shirt over your face would.

"The walls are falling in. Get out of here!" Tony told Peter. "I can handle it."

Peter didn't stop. "I'm not leaving without those people. Catch me if you can!" He jumped from his perch on the wall and wove through the flames and debris to the other side of the room.

Tony cursed, watching as his display showed how close the walls were from crumbling in. But his bulky suit couldn't get to where those people were without knocking aside debris. When he asked F.R.I.D.A.Y, she responded, "_No can do, boss. You move anything and these walls fall ahead of schedule." _

"Spider-Man!" He called out. There was no response, but he heard snippets of voices from beyond the wreckage of the ceiling. "Shit. Okay, F.R.I.D.A.Y, how can we keep this place upright a little longer."

He followed F.R.I.D.A.Y's directions, shooting nano tech in key places along the walls. It wouldn't hold for good, but it would help.

The walls were groaning, and smoke was still building. But before Tony could call out again for Peter, he burst through the hole in the wreckage, pulling two women through with him. They were still conscious, but looked dazed, covered in dust and scratches.

"Get these two out of here," Peter said. "I'm going back for the last guy."

Tony hesitated, but F.R.I.D.A.Y spoke up again, warning him the ceiling was due to collapse. "Grab him and get out quick. This place won't last much longer!" He held one woman in each arm and looked up. "Hold on, ladies. We're goin' up." He pushed off, flying through the hole in the ceiling and out into fresh air. One woman screamed, and the other was furiously coughing. He dropped them off at a safe distance by one of the ambulances.

Looking around, he saw that a few fire trucks had also shown up, and Cap and Black Widow were navigating through, moving civilians farther away from the fire.

_BOOM-BASH!_

Tony's head snapped around, and his eyes widened as the building collapsed. "No," he breathed. Not again. "Spider-Man!" he started to race towards the wreckage when a familiar figure landed to his right. He turned to see Peter, completely whole save for some burns to his suit.

"Right here, old man. Calm down before you give yourself a heart attack." Peter cocked his head. "I swung out the back just as the walls were collapsing. The last guy's over with the paramedics now."

Tony just looked at him for a moment, then heaved a breath. "Jesus, that was too close for comfort."

"What, like you were worried about me? Too close for comfort is my middle name." With that, Peter jumped off and swung over to help Natasha and Steve.

Tony took a moment to steady himself. With the mask covering his face, it was hard not to see his Peter there - the well meaning but inexperienced kid. This Spider-Man obviously had confidence that their's hadn't had the time to develop.

He turned his mind back to the problem at hand as he landed on the pavement next to the others. Apparently Rodgers had updated Natasha on the whole other-dimensional spider thing, because she didn't seem too fazed. Then again, she had a masterful poker face, so it was hard to tell.

There wasn't much left to do, as most of the injured had been loaded into ambulances. The police had set up a perimeter around the area, blocking pedestrians. A few of the first responders nodded their thanks, and he returned the sentiment.

F.R.I.D.A.Y, who had been analyzing the area trying to figure out what caused the explosion, reported her findings.

Relieved, Tony relayed it to the others. "Good news, boys and girls. Apparently the explosion wasn't intentional. It was just a blown gas line."

"That makes sense," Natasha said. "No one's been watching stuff like that very closely since this all started. This sort of thing was bound to happen."

Steve nodded. "Good to hear this isn't wrapped up in everything else. But we should tell the police to put out some kind of alert, remind people to remember what they might have overlooked recently."

"Don't you love a good team huddle?" Peter said, gesturing around the little circle they had formed on the sidewalk. "I'll admit I'm still extremely confused about almost everything but that felt really organized, people. Go team!" He pumped his fist.

Natasha raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure we didn't get the right one?"

"Don't be fooled," Tony said. "His brain might have stopped developing at 16, but this kid's ten years too old to be ours."

"Ooh," Peter laughed. "I didn't know I would be burned after I escaped the fire. That's not fair."

Steve shook his head, amused, and turned to look down the street. "We should get out of here. The others are regrouping back at the Tower."

Tony nodded, then looked at Peter. "And I'm sure they're curious to meet you."

"Does it count as meeting me if they already know me?"

"Actually, some of them have never even met our version of you," Nat replied.

Peter shot some webbing skywards and exclaimed as he pulled himself off the ground, "Well, better not keep them waiting!"

Tony looked over at Steve and Natasha. "Are neither of you going to comment on how weird this is?"

Steve looked back at him. "At this point, Tony, I don't think anything can surprise me."

Natasha was watching Spider-Man wave from the top of the next building over. "No, this is definitely weird."

"Come on, slow pokes!" Peter called.

Steve raised an eyebrow at Natasha. "I'll grab the car."

Tony shook his head as he lifted off and followed Peter back to the tower. _What a day._


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! Here's a new chapter. This one took me a while to figure out, since I had to work out the specifics of how Peter got there and also there are a ton of characters involved. I hope I got their voices right, but I don't know all of them well so take it with a grain of salt.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas! Enjoy!

* * *

"So, who's gonna be the one to tell me what the heck is going on around here?" Peter asked, looking around at everyone.

They had arrived at the tower fifteen minutes earlier, and found everyone gathered in the kitchen, either searching for food in the cabinets or sitting together at the dining table. The room was filled with voices talking over one another, but they all quieted as soon as Peter walked in.

Thor was the first to speak, as he walked over to clap Peter on the shoulder. "Glad to meet you, Spider-Peter. I've heard much about you."

"Thor!" Peter's mask was still on, but it sounded like he was grinning. He looked back at Tony. "God, this guy's great, isn't he? Love the haircut, by the way."

"Have we met before?"

Peter shrugged. "Well, no. But also yes."

Thor nodded, and opened his mouth to speak again, but got cut off by Rocket - "What's with the bug eyes?"

"Hey!" Scott said indignantly, glancing up from a bowl of Rice Krispies. "What's wrong with dressing up like a bug? I've heard at least several people say it's very cool."

Peter laughed and pulled off the mask, his hair sticking up messily. "Sorry, I forgot. I kind of have this secret identity thing I do. Also I'd like to add that spiders aren't bugs. Common misconception"

"Well _excuse _me," Rocket replied, hopping up onto a chair at the table. "I'll definitely file that nugget away in my _I don't give a shit _drawer."

Peter raised his eyebrows bemusedly.

Tony had disengaged his armor, and grabbed a glass of water before he took a seat, the conversation still going as the others spoke up - first Rhodey, then Carol, then Clint.

"Wow, you too, Hawkeye? Everyone's going in for edgy haircuts."

Clint only raised an eyebrow at Peter before taking his seat again.

Happy had joined them and was sat in an armchair away from the group. Tony noticed that while he didn't speak up to say something to Peter, his eyes followed Peter intently, his face a bit unsettled.

"It's strange to think that there are other dimensions out there," Carol said, considering Peter.

Scott chuckled nervously. "Yeah, is this alternate reality thing not freaking anyone else out? Because I'm definitely a little freaked out."

"Yeah, kind of makes you feel small, doesn't it?" Rhodey cracked, smiling at Scott.

"Oh, no," Tony drawled. "Please, no puns."

"Yes, please, puns," Peter added. "It's an artform."

Thor leaned forwards. "So, other-world spider, how did you get here? Do you also have a magic hammer?"

Tony couldn't help but chuckle. "Not quite, Point Break. Somehow the machine we've been working on malfunctioned."

Carol crossed her arms over her chest. "I told you it wouldn't work."

Tony scowled, but before he could respond Bruce walked in the room. "Actually," he said, taking a place at the table, "it did work. Just not exactly how we wanted it to." He turned to Tony. "I've been working through the system, and haven't found anything yet. But my suspicion is that it has something to do with signal frequency distorting the location sensors."

Rocket scoffed. "It's a jerry-rigged space hopper. We shouldn't expect it to work perfectly. It's a miracle it worked at all."

At that moment, Nat and Steve showed up, and they all gathered around the table. Steve asked as they walked in, "What's going on?"

Tony leaned back in his chair. "Just having a little meet and greet with our inter-dimensional traveller."

Nat leaned up against the wall. "You figured out a way to send him back?"

Peter quirked a smile. "What, sick of me already?"

"Well, we have to figure out what went wrong to get you here in the first place before we can ever turn it around," Bruce replied. "For some reason, we connected to your universe instead of our own."

Carol spoke up, "Maybe because you can't connect to the afterlife."

The whole room fell terribly quiet, each person lost in their own pain for a moment.

Tony felt frustration rise in him. They had had this argument before, and he was prepared to have it again. He opened his mouth to speak, but it was Rodgers who replied first.

"We can't afford to think like that, Carol," he said. "If we don't believe in what we're doing here, this whole thing falls apart, and you know it."

That was when Peter spoke up. His face was colored in confusion. "So, who's gonna be the one to tell me what the heck is going on around here? Something's not right, and I'd like to know what. What do you mean, afterlife?"

Steve and Tony locked eyes for a moment, and Tony nodded. It was kind of nice, in a weird way, that there was someone around who didn't know exactly how horrible the world - the universe - had gotten. But there was no use in putting it off any longer.

Steve cleared his throat, solemn faces watched him from around the table. "What happened is… we lost." Peter looked confused, but let Steve continue. "And because we lost - because we lost, half the people in the universe were wiped out." He looked pained. Tony sympathised. Even after these months, it hadn't gotten easier to acknowledge. They avoided saying it aloud, and thankfully they rarely needed to.

Tony watched as Peter's face played out a series of emotions: confusion, shock, denial, understanding, and anguish. He was pale as he responded, "How? How could that happen?"

"One ugly purple asshole and a fist full of infinity stones," Rocket spat.

"Infinity stones?" Peter's voice held an emotion that Tony couldn't place.

"Do you know about them?" Bruce asked.

Peter blinked down at the table. "I've - I've heard of them."

"And the 'ugly purple asshole' would be a guy named Thanos," Tony supplied. "You heard of him?"

"Yeah, actually. I -" Peter broke off, his eyes widening for a moment and face paling even further.

"What is it?" Natasha asked, her eyes narrowing.

Everyone's eyes were on Peter as he looked up quickly and brushed away his obvious anxiety. "Nothing. This is just… hard to take in, I guess."

"Imagine how we feel," Rhodey said bitterly.

"If you know anything, you need to tell us," Steve said.

"I don't…" Peter scowled. "Look, I want to help you. I wouldn't keep anything from you. What could I possibly gain from lying?"

"He makes a good point," Carol said. "He's got no stakes in this."

Rocket narrowed his eyes. "Yeah? And how d'we know you're not the _evil _Spider-Man? How d'we know for sure you're even from another dimension? How can we trust anything you say?"

"Hey! I would never do anything to hurt any of you!"

Steve cut in. "Rocket, calm down. That isn't helping."

"No need for fighting, rabbit. He is not of this universe," Thor said calmly.

"How do you know that?" Rhodey asked.

Thor was looking at Peter. "Can't you feel it? His energy is different… off. He may be evil, but he is not from this universe."

Peter threw up his hands. "I'm not evil, either, thank you!"

"Great, now that that's settled, can we move on?" Tony griped. This whole argument was a waste of time, he thought. There was no way that Peter was trying to sabotage them. In fact, his reactions served to prove that he was what he said he was. You couldn't act out that kind of shock and horror. That was just the body's reaction to being slapped in the face with the truth.

"We should probably explain how you ended up here," Bruce conceded.

Peter nodded. "Thank you. I was wondering when we would get to that."

Banner went on to explain their plan. "Our working theory is that those who disappeared aren't technically _gone. _The power of the infinity stones stands to reason that if put to use, they could be directed to undo what's happened."

"We've been working to try and find Thanos to do it that way, but we haven't been able to find him," Steve cut in.

"Right," Bruce nodded. "But if it's true that they're not exactly _gone, _where are they? Or at least, where is their energy being stored? Our best guess is the soul stone."

"The soul stone," Peter repeated, his voice tinged with understanding and confusion simultaneously.

Bruce continued, "So we've been trying to develop some way to access it by tracing specific DNA sequences to their source."

"And we thought we had it figured out before you popped on the scene," Tony said.

Peter shrugged. "At least you grabbed a Peter Parker. Proves you're closer than you think you are." He added, "And you don't have any idea yet on how to reverse it? To get me back?"

Bruce looked around the table, then back at him. "Uh, not yet. But we'll figure it out."

Peter nodded. "Okay. Well, all of you should know that while I'm here, I'll do anything to help. You can trust me."

There was a moment of silence around the room before Rocket slapped his paws down on the table top and pushed his chair back. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you losers, but I'm gonna get a drink."

"Count me in on that one," Tony said dryly.

"Anyone want to play Clue?" Scott asked, to the sound of several groans.

"Really, Scott? Again?" Rhodey asked.

Carol pushed her chair back, too. "I'll play. You want to join, Peter?"

Peter blinked. "Uh, yeah. Sure. I love Clue."

* * *

The group broke up slowly, some people going to bed, others to find more to eat, to watch a movie, or to keep playing Clue.

Tony stood with a drink in his hand, watching the scene play out. Peter was wiping the floor with everyone else at Clue - he had won three games in a row.

He spotted Happy sitting by himself on the side of the room, and moved to join him.

It was quieter away from the group, and as Tony sat down on the couch next to his friend he let out a tired sigh. "What a day, huh?" he said wryly. "I must say this isn't what I expected would happen when I woke up this morning."

Happy turned to look at him. "Have you told Pepper?"

Tony shook his head. "Not yet. I mean, I was hoping for better news." Pepper was down in D.C. at the moment lobbying for citizens relief funds. Tony hated being apart from her, but she felt it was the best way that she could do her part.

Happy's face was sympathetic. "You'll figure it out, Tony. We'll get him back. We'll get them all back."

He took a deep breath, watching the group on the other side of the room. This morning they thought they had pushed through and figured it out. Tony wasn't mad at this Peter for existing, or even for being there, but it was a crushing blow to realize that their efforts hadn't worked. They were way off on something they hadn't even considered before, and it would take time to figure it out. He thought about the world outside - the streets of New York that were much emptier than they should have been.

"I hope so," he said softly.

Happy looked over at Peter too. He was joking and laughing with Scott and Thor, his expression light. "How is he dealing with this so well?"

Tony shrugged. "Apparently he's done this before - gone to other dimensions."

"Putting aside the fact that there are even _more _dimensions - this would shake anyone up. He just seems so comfortable."

Tony considered that. "I think he is shaken up. But just think - he's been doing this for years. Longer than any of us have. And when you live this life, you have to learn how to compartmentalize."

Happy raised an eyebrow at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, maybe I'm not the best example of compartmentalizing, but I'm better than I used to be. I mean, who I was before Iron Man would never have been able to live through this mess."

"True enough," Happy replied. Then he sighed, still looking over at Peter. "I just hope we get to see our Peter become this."

Tony's heart rang with the wrongness of it all yet again. That Peter was gone and they got to stay. "He's married, you know.'

Happy raised his eyebrows, then chuckled. "Oh my god, wow. Our Peter can barely even speak to girls."

He smiled. "That's what I was thinking. Somehow the thought of Peter married is weirder than a lot else I've heard today."

"You know he had me drop him off at a date once," Happy said, still laughing. "One day when I was driving him back from the compound. He didn't say so outright, but I dropped him off at pretty nice restaurant, and he was _so _nervous. I teased him the whole way there." He smiled fondly.

Tony laughed. "How did I never hear about that?"

Happy shrugged. "He was so embarrassed. He made me promise never to tell."

He chuckled again, thinking about Peter's awkward mannerisms. How nervous he had been when they first met - how that nervousness had slowly disappeared as they got to know each other. How they had spend days in the lab together, working on the suit, on Peter's school projects - on anything. He was so smart, and had so much potential. There wasn't anything he couldn't do if he wanted.

But now he was gone, and if they didn't get him back, he would never get to do any of that.

Happy was watching him carefully. "It's like I said, Tony. We're going to fix this."

Tony nodded. He wished he could be so certain.

* * *

He was gazing out through the window, stars and darkness shining back at him. He felt tired. More tired than he had ever felt before. His stomach was wracked with pain, and his throat was dry.

He wasn't afraid to die. At this point, he wished it would come faster.

There was no way out of this. He was out of fuel, out of water, out of food. And the spinning darkness of space went on further than he could see.

What was the point of living, anyway. Everyone was dead. He had left a note for Pepper, but it was more for him than it was for her. She was probably dead already. Who knew what Thanos had done after he had gotten the time stone. Earth might have disappeared in a cloud of dust just like - just like Peter had.

_BOOM!_

His heart raced as he heard the noise. He hadn't heard anything like that for weeks. Was this it? Was the ship finally falling apart?

But then his eyes tracked up, and his breath stuttered. He collapsed backwards.

Peter was outside the window.

His face was pleading, begging.

"P-Peter? How?" his voice was breathless. He tried to stand, but found that he couldn't. His arms were tied down. "No. Peter?"

Peter was banging against the glass, his eyes wild with fear. He fought against whatever was holding him down, desperate to open the door and let him in, or at least join him in the blackness outside.

Instead, he couldn't move as he watched Peter suffocate, then freeze. Then slowly he vanished, the dust floating off into space.

"No!" He screamed, fighting against his bonds. "_No!_"

* * *

Tony slammed awake, his heart pounding, sweat pouring off his face. He rubbed his eyes, breathing heavily, and struggled to center himself. He wasn't in space. He was on Earth. In New York, in the Tower, in his bed.

He was fine.

But Peter wasn't.

He grabbed the glass of water that was next to his bed and chugged it down, willing the liquid to wash away the feeling of dehydration. As he placed the glass back down, he looked at the clock: 3:47 AM.

Tony sighed, and rubbed a hand through his hair, still working to calm himself. But he knew that he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep again, so he swung his legs over the side of the bed and wandered off to the kitchen.

The main room was dark and quiet, and he heard his footsteps on the floor as he made his way to the refrigerator. He hadn't eaten last night, and his stomach growled at him. He grabbed a box of leftovers and reheated them in the microwave.

He was walking towards the lab when he saw a small light coming from down the hall. It was coming through the door of the office, a room where they kept a few computers and desks for whoever wanted to use them.

Tony approached slowly, willing his feet to be quiet on the floors. When he looked in the room, he saw it was empty save for one person.

Tony took a deep breath and stepped into the dark office. Peter was sitting in front of the computer, the light glowing onto his face. He was scrolling through news feeds and pictures, the events of the past few months rushing past. He looked up when he heard the footsteps, and Tony could see the horror reflected in Peter's eyes.

"Still awake?" Tony commented.

Peter looked back at the screen. "I couldn't sleep."

"I know the feeling," He sighed. "I see you're catching up on all the fun," he added sardonically, taking a seat at a neighbouring table.

Peter's voice was lower and more serious than he had ever heard it. "It's… awful. Hard to even wrap your head around."

"Yeah, it is. But it's real."

Peter looked up at him, eyes haunted. But there was something else there, and his voice was slightly unsteady as he said, "I know. I - I remember now." Tony's brow furrowed, but he let him keep speaking: "This whole time it felt like an itch I was trying not to scratch. Something my mind didn't want to remember. I would've said something earlier, but I had to work it all through in my head."

His eyes widened. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Peter nodded slowly. "This happened to us. This same thing happened in my universe."

They just looked at each other for a moment. Tony's mind was spinning with the implications. Finally he said desperately, "You have to tell us everything."


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! So, here we have Peter explaining his side of the story. All you comic readers out there, just keep in mind I've only ever read the Infinity Gauntlet, and so all this information is just based off of that. We're gonna pretend like the rest of it didn't happen, since I haven't read it.

Please review and let me know your thoughts, whatever they are!

* * *

"I'm not sure how helpful this is gonna be," Peter said, his arms crossed in front of him. He was sitting in an armchair on one side of the space, and Tony, Steve, and Bruce were sitting on the other side, filling up the sofa and another chair.

As soon as Tony had fully understood what Peter was saying - that in his universe, half of life had also been destroyed - he had gone to wake up Steve and Bruce. Everyone deserved to hear this, but Tony knew that they would be the ones that wouldn't mind being shaken awake at four in the morning. If there was anything useful to gain out of this, they would share it with everyone else when they woke up.

Once they had gotten seated, Peter swore he wouldn't share anything until they had told their side of the story. Tony was frustrated, but together the three of them quickly managed to tell the whole tale, from when Thanos attacked Asgard, to Bruce crashing through Dr. Strange's roof, to the battles in Wakanda and on Titan, and Thanos' snap. Peter just listened, his face thoughtful.

Peter had only spoken up when they had finished. "Wowza, this multi-universe thing is starting to trip me out again."

"Wowza?" Bruce echoed, sharing a look with Steve.

Peter only shrugged, then added: "I'll say it again - I get that you guys want to hear it, but I don't know how much this is really gonna help."

Tony's heart was still racing, his thoughts jumbled as he thought of the implications. Somehow this had happened, and in this Peter's universe _they had won. _If they could just figure out how that happened… This whole horrible ordeal might be over.

"It's fine," he replied to Peter impatiently. "You never know what could be useful. Just tell us what happened."

"Can I ask first," Steve cut in, "Why didn't you speak up earlier? We asked if you knew anything and you said you didn't."

"Well - it's complicated," Peter said. "But I'll get to that, I promise."

Steve nodded. "Alight, go on."

Peter sighed, seemingly collecting his thoughts. "Okay, okay. I guess I'll start with when people started disappearing. See, we didn't have any advance warning about any of this. One day, out of the blue, people just started disappearing - just like how you described it happening to you."

"You didn't know about Thanos?" Bruce asked.

"Well, people knew he was out there, but never imagined something like that happening," Peter explained. "Anyways, half of life on earth was there one second and gone the next. Even MJ was - I mean, everyone lost people," Peter corrected himself. Tony was sure that he was the only one to catch it. MJ must have been Mary Jane, Peter's wife.

Peter went on, "I was trying to figure out what had happened, but I couldn't get in contact with anyone. And then… god, we thought it was bad, and it only got worse."

Tony frowned, glancing over at Bruce and Steve, then back again. "What happened?" What could possibly be worse than that?

Peter was clearly wrapped up in his memories as he spoke, "There was some massive energy wave that hit earth, and it was like the end of the world. The whole western coast fell into the ocean." Tony's eyes widened, and he listened in horror as Peter kept speaking, "There was this huge tsunami that hit the east coast, volcanoes were exploding - I know that Japan just got destroyed, there was nothing left."

"Jesus," Bruce cursed softly.

"I even heard later that the whole planet had been shifted off its axis and was being pushed away from the sun."

Tony looked over at Steve, who looked back, his face pale. He knew that they were thinking the same thing. Could this happen to them, too?

Peter kept talking, walking through the story. "Eventually I got a call to join up with the Avengers. Someone had opened up some kind of portal that led me straight to where they were."

"Who was there?" Steve said.

"Uh, well everyone that had survived. It wasn't too many of us, really. But you were there, Cap. And Tony, and you Bruce - but you were the Hulk. Then there were some other guys - Thor, Wolverine, Dr. Strange, Cyclops, Scarlet Witch, and a few others. Geez, Doctor Doom was there too, wasn't that weird."

Tony raised his eyebrow at the unfamiliar names, then checked himself. He had met a talking raccoon - stupidly weird things were happening in this universe, too.

"Anyway," Peter continued, "The guy of the hour was Adam Warlock." He looked around. "Okay, from your faces I can guess you've never heard of him. Long story But he told us what Thanos had done, and that he knew about the infinity stones, and that the only chance we had was to gather together and fight this guy. He knew how to use the stones to make it like none of this had ever happened."

Tony nodded, and saw Steve doing the same out of the corner of his eye. They had had this discussion before - it was one of the ideas they had been pursuing. It only made sense - the gauntlet had caused all of this, so it was the only thing that could fix this. But they hadn't had any luck locating it or Thanos. That was why they had developed the transporter - a desperate need for solutions.

"So you fought Thanos? With the full power of all the stones?" Bruce asked, sounding shocked. "How?"

Peter frowned, seemingly sorting through more memories. His face was drawn. "Well, it didn't go well, if that's what you're asking. Vision had told us that we could only beat Thanos if he wanted to be beaten - if he got to cocky, that is. And that's what kind of happened, really. He trapped us as soon as he arrived - none of us could move. I mean, with all of the infinity stones he was unstoppable. He only unfroze us to… I don't know, I guess to play with us. We managed to get a couple good licks in - I even webbed him in the face, which was great, by the way. But then… but then he started taking people out." Peter's face was pale. "I guess I figured out that Adam Warlock never really meant for us to win."

Steve was frowning. "But then what happened? How did you win?"

Peter took a breath. "Well, I died right around then. I didn't get to see the end play out."

Tony felt his heart stutter for a moment as he processed that. Then he asked, "You didn't see anything?"

Peter shrugged. "Well, you were still alive, Cap. You might've done something, or Adam might've - or anyone. But I can only know for sure that someone got to the gauntlet, and used the infinity stones to turn back time like we planned."

"How do you know that?" Bruce asked.

"Because that's when my real memory starts up again. That's why I didn't remember any of this until now. It was like it had never happened to me. But I guess my subconscious still kept it stored somewhere, and all this," he gestured around, "knocked it loose."

"Well, none of that sounds very encouraging," a voice drawled from off to the side.

Tony's head snapped up to see Natasha leaning in the door frame. "Jesus, you could knock," he snapped, his heart racing.

"And you could've brought me in on this," she replied coldly, looking around on all of them, her eyes pausing on Bruce.

Bruce raised his hands placatingly. "Hey, come on. We were never gonna keep anything from you. That's not what was happening!"

Natasha only raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'd second what she said," Steve cut in. "That does not sound promising. Any of that. We don't even know how you really pulled it off in the end."

"Sorry I was too dead to remember," Peter snapped back.

Tony watched him carefully. Peter still seemed shaken up about what he had just told them. It only made sense. After all, he had just remembered what had basically been the end of the world - had remembered his own death. That would shake anyone up.

Suddenly Peter stood up, only a little wobbly on his feet. Everyone turned to look at him as he said, "I'm going out for a bit. Gotta see if the sun still rises in the east in this universe."

The others turned back to each other, bickering and discussing what they had just heard, but Tony followed Peter out of the room. "Hey, wait up!" He called out. Somehow Peter had gotten to the end of the hall in the time it had taken him to get to the doorway.

Peter paused with his back to him, and Tony jogged to catch up. "Are you okay?" Tony asked. "You're not gonna freak out, are you?"

Peter looked back at him and quirked a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm fine. Just gonna swing around. I'll be back."

"You know, we get more than maybe anyone else what it's like -"

"Thanks. I said, I'm fine," Peter said firmly, sounding very much not fine. He started walking off.

"Right…" Tony muttered to himself as he watched Peter move down the hall. "Totally fine."

* * *

A few hours later Peter was still gone, and almost everyone in the Tower had woken up and was wandering around, making themselves breakfast or catching up on any breaking news.

Tony had first called Pepper to update her on what was going on, since she deserved to know. Then they had all shared what Peter had told them with the rest of the Avengers. They were all interested, but didn't know exactly how they could use that information to their advantage. It would have to take some more thinking.

Now, Tony was in the lab working with Bruce on the teleporter, and it felt like they were close to figuring out what had gone wrong. The way this thing worked was that it created a portal through which the match to the DNA sample provided was pushed through, the portal only being open for a split second. Apparently the portal they had created had opened perpendicular to how normal jump points opened. They had changed the math in an attempt to configure a way to break into the soul stone, but it seemed instead they had broken into another dimension. It was certainly a lot to consider.

"I mean come on, Tony," Bruce said excitedly. "Hypothetically this portal could open in any number of degrees opening to entirely different dimensions. Interdimensional travel, Tony!"

Tony agreed, but for some reason couldn't manage to muster up the same energy. He could never summon up very much energy these days.

And truthfully, he didn't care unless one of those dimensions was the soul stone.

He went to go get himself some lunch - a turkey sandwich - and found Rocket and Thor hanging out in the main room.

Rocket called out to him, "Hey Stark! Where did that bug boy go anyway? Surely it ain't safe to have him just wanderin' around out there alone."

"He's just exploring," Tony replied. "He'll be back."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because he said he would be."

Rocket huffed. "Oh yeah, and nobody lies about something like that."

"He has been gone a while," Thor said. "Perhaps we should go and find him."

"Good idea, Sparky," Rocket replied, punching him in the shoulder. "You do that."

"No, he -" Tony tried to protest, but he couldn't get more than that out before Thor was out the door and off. He shot a glare at Rocket instead, who shrugged, and turned back to hotwiring one of the playstation controllers. "Hey!" Tony said indignantly. "What did I say about making bombs out of my stuff!"

"That I could do it?"

"Yeah, that's definitely the opposite of what I said."

"Well, I got pretty close considering I was never listening in the first place."

"Keep trying it and dinner will be roasted raccoon," Tony countered.

Rocket turned around. "How many times I gotta say it? I'm not a raccoon!"

"Keep telling yourself that, buddy."

* * *

Another hour later Thor and Peter arrived back at the Tower.

Thor was singing his praises. "This man is indeed like a spider," he said cheerfully, clapping Peter on the shoulder. "And a gifted fighter."

"Aw, thanks, Thor," Peter replied. "That almost makes me forgive you for that time you were in love with my wife. Well, I guess that wasn't _you _you," he added.

"You two get in a fight?" Tony asked.

"I found the spider just as he was preventing a theft. It was very well done."

Peter caught Tony's eye and shrugged. "What can I say, big man. It's what I do." He stepped out from Thor's hand and walked to grab himself some food.

Tony followed him. "How's the city?"

"Doing fine," Peter replied. "It's funny to see all the little differences, though."

Thor walked out of the room, Rocket trailing behind him, leaving the room empty except for Peter and Tony.

Peter sat down at the table, and Tony poured himself a drink before he sat down next to him, his chair pulled out at an angle. The younger man took a bite of his sandwich, lettuce crunching in his mouth.

"This is good," he said.

"Must be. Have you even eaten anything else since you got here?" Tony said wryly.

Peter shrugged. "I guess not."

Tony paused hesitantly before asking, "You… are okay, right? Do you want to talk more about what you remembered? It can't be pretty."

Peter looked up at him and smiled sincerely. "I'm really alright. I just hope what I remembered is useful somehow. But thanks for asking. I've been through a lot of crazy and horrible stuff. You kind of get used to feeling overwhelmed. But I'm sure you know what I mean."

Tony chuckled. "Sure do."

Peter took another bite and swallowed before adding, "The only thing I'm worried about is back home. I just hope everyone's okay."

He nodded. "I'm sure everyone's fine. And hey, we're getting closer to figuring out how to send you back."

Peter perked up at that. "That's great. I'd love to look at the machine you have, if you'd let me."

"Yeah, sure." He was reminded of his Peter - how he loved working in the lab with Tony, working through problems and getting excited by new ideas.

Peter was looking at him thoughtfully, and Tony nearly squirmed under the scrutiny. "So your Peter… he was one of the people that was taken."

Tony nodded slowly. "That's right."

"Why pick him? To bring back, I mean."

He paused, hesitant. "Uh, well. We had to pick someone. And we had Peter's DNA on file."

Peter frowned. "But surely there's other Avengers that would be more useful in a fight, or better able to help, or something."

He let out a breath. "Well, you got me there. Truth is, I guess I'm just selfish."

Peter huffed a laugh. "Tell me something I don't know."

Tony smiled, though couldn't help but feel a little affronted at that. It was definitely true that he was selfish, but it was weird to hear Peter say so. It was something that his Peter would never say. He brushed it off. Maybe in this Peter's world he was a terrible person. Suddenly, he was extremely curious. "So… what else is different about this dimension to yours?"

Peter ran a hand through his hair. "Well, it's mostly little things. Little changes in the grand scheme of things, anyway. Like Thor's hairdo. And on my earth, there are way more superheroes. I mean, honestly there's too many," he said with a chuckle. "And so many of them can't be bothered to come up with their own names. There's like twenty Spider-People at this point."

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Twenty? Seriously?"

Peter shrugged. "Okay, I may be violently exaggerating, but it certainly feels that way sometimes." He went on, "But yeah, mostly everyone here exists in my dimension, but here they're just a little off. Not in a bad way, necessarily. Just different."

"What's your Tony Stark like, then? Am I the evil twin?" He joked, trying to cover just how curious he was.

Peter chucked. "Yeah, you're pretty similar. I'd say he's a little more - I guess more serious than you are. And sober," he added, gesturing towards Tony's drink.

Tony smiled. "I always knew I would be the fun, charismatic one."

"Yeah, you would like that. It's funny, though -" he added, his face thoughtful, "I mean, I feel like I know my Tony Stark pretty well. At one point I even thought of him as… well - kind of like a father." He glanced at Tony and away again.

Tony soaked in his words. He had never really let himself have so complete a thought about it - that he was a father figure for his Peter. But he knew now that it was true. After a moment, however, he frowned. There was more to the story. "What - what happened?"

"It's complicated."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Isn't it always. Come on though, really. Tell me."

Peter shrugged. "Well, he was good to me for a long time. Let me and my family live with him, always helped me when I needed it. And I learned a lot from him. But - well, there was this… people were calling it a civil war." He took a breath. "The government started requiring superheroes to register their real names as some kind of bid to increase accountability. It was a whole mess. A whole bunch of heroes didn't support it, but also a bunch did, and Tony was all for it. I put all my trust into him, and followed his lead."

Tony couldn't help but notice some similarities in the situation. "So, you registered? Told everyone who you were?"

"Yup." Peter leaned back and crossed his arms. "And it was a huge mistake. He was blinded by what he wanted for himself, and he wasn't thinking clearly. I mean, no one really was, but…" he shook his head. "I ended up switching sides, but the damage was already done since everyone knew I was Spider-Man. And because of that my aunt was shot."

Tony's eyes widened. "Did she…?" he couldn't even ask the question, but Peter understood.

"No, no. She's fine now. But things did get really complicated for me for a while." He swallowed, and added quickly, "Anyway, we're not as close now. I'm not angry anymore, but things still aren't the same between us."

Tony nodded. Somehow he felt like he was responsible, even though it wasn't him that had done anything. "Right. I -"

Peter cut him off. "Wait. Just let me -" He took a shaky breath, and smiled. "What I'm trying - and failing - to say here, is that even when I was closest with my Tony, I could never see him… care so much as you seem to - about your Peter."

"Oh."

He pushed his hair back with an awkward smile. "Sorry, MJ's the one who's good at these emotional speeches. But - I guess I'm just glad that your Peter has someone like you watching out for him. God knows I could've used that kind of guidance when I was starting out."

Tony smiled back softly. "Thank you, Peter. That actually means a lot."

Peter pointed at him and added quickly, "Just don't abuse it, okay?"

He gave a mock salute. "Yes, sir."

Peter leaned back again in his chair with a laugh. "Okay, boss. I've reached my quota for the day. No more sentimentality."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Please. You live for sentimentality."

There was a pause. Tony swirled his drink, and Peter picked at the crust of his sandwich.

"I really hope you get him back," Peter added softly, only proving his point.

"Yeah, me too, bud." The familiarity rolled off his tongue before he could stop it. He looked over at Peter quickly, saying, "Sorry. I just - sometimes it - with you I -" Damnit, he never tripped over his words like this. He looked away and swallowed past the knot in his throat before saying, "Talking with you sometimes I forget you're not him."

Peter was looking at him carefully.

"I guess I'm glad," he added, wiping a hand quickly across his eyes. "Even if I never get to see him again. I'm glad I got to see you. It's like seeing what he'd get to be if he grew up."

"You will see him again," Peter said, more firmly this time.

"Yeah. I will," he replied. And somehow, for the first time in forever, he believed it when he said it.


End file.
